Everybody Hurts
by Shadystar
Summary: Whether you're rich or poor, everyone is fighting their own silent battle. Bruce is consumed with guilt over his parents' death and frustration with his life in general. He is considering drastic measures to relieve his pain. Selina is considering leaving Gotham forever. Warning: mention of suicide.
1. From The Top

**Hey everyone. I've written several of stories for shows based on DC comic characters, but this is my first one for Gotham and my first story done completely in first person. This is probably also one of my more darker stories, so hopefully I didn't make it too depressing. The next chapter should be finished soon.**

 **I'm time-lining this probably between the episodes ''Welcome Back, Jim Gordon" and "The Fearsome Dr. Crane" (right after Bruce comes back from Switzerland and finds Selina).**

 **Anyway enough rambling, I don't own Gotham or the copyrights to anything related to Batman/ DC Comics.**

 **Enjoy and please review.**

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Chapter 1

 **Bruce's Point of View:**

I lied to Alfred. I've never lied to anyone before. My parents always told me to tell the truth, no matter how difficult it was.

'Lies cause more problems then they prevent.' My father would say.

'The truth always has a way of coming out.' My mother would warn me.

This was only a temporary lie anyway. Alfred will know the whole truth soon enough, I explained everything in the note.

I told Alfred not to pick me up from school this afternoon. I called him during lunch and told him a friend from school invited me over to spend the night. He didn't ask questions, he was probably glad that I'm not brooding in my den, obsessing over details of my parents' murder. Alfred never pries into my personal life; mostly because he knows it would go against my father's wishes.

I'm actually surprised he bought it; I've never been very popular at school. My parents always said that I was an introvert, that I'm just shy. When most boys my age were playing sports and video games, I enjoyed reading novels and learning new languages. While they were watching cartoons, I watched the news. They spend their weekends playing in arcades and hanging out at the mall, meanwhile I'm usually attending plays at the local theater house or studying in the library. My mother used to say that I'm an old soul who is just mature for his age. I suppose that's motherese for 'loser'.

Gotham Academy was a private school for rich kids and I was one of the richest kid there, if not the richest. Most of the kids there were from millionaire families. Some weren't even rich but there on scholarships; most on Wayne Foundation scholarships, a new project my parents were working on. You would assume that being the richest kid in school I would be more popular, but that's not the case. I've had a few so called friends that would hang out with me only because my family was so rich. If anything, it was more of a business investment rather than a friendship. They would sometimes go to my parties, mostly for the extravagant party favors. But they never invited me to their's; unless they thought they could get an expensive gift out of me.

Perhaps they thought that because my family and I were billionaires that it meant we were smug. I've even tied to make friends with the Wayne Foundation kids, but when they did hang out with me it was because their parents forced them to. I assume they were afraid that if I complained to my parents they would lose their scholarship. In retrospect, I suppose the only real friend I had was… Come to think of it, she didn't really care much for me either. She used me. She lied to me and the police to get out of going upstate with the other street kids by using my parents' death as an excuse.

My parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne, made headlines when they were shot to death after what many of the newspapers described as a 'mugging gone wrong'. It wasn't an accident. Someone wanted them gone; but who and why?

Why did he have to take both of them from me? Not that I could choose between them, but one parent is better than none.

Why couldn't it have just been me? My parents could always have another child, perhaps one who could have made them proud and would have been a more suitable heir to the family's company.

Why didn't the killer do me the mercy of killing me also; rather than leaving me without parents? Alfred is great, but he's not my father.

Why couldn't I save them? My grief councilor told me it wasn't my fault, that there was nothing I could have done differently that would have made a difference.

Everyone else tells me that everything happens for a reason and that it will all be okay in the end. What good can come out of this? My parents are dead.

Since their death, I've been working on becoming the son they deserved when they were alive; a son they could be proud of. I've been working on becoming stronger, wiser, braver, and more resilient. Alfred has been teaching me how to fight and I've been working on overcoming my fears. As well as researching detective techniques for thinking more objectively and creatively. I've been training myself to the point of exhaustion, it's the only way I can stay asleep all night without dreaming. Since that night I've either woken up in panic from reliving their shooting or fighting tears reliving good memories and the realization that I will never have a new good memory of them ever again.

I've been training hard in hopes that maybe one day I can find the man who did this and make him pay for taking the two people in the world I cared about the most. But I still fear that it will never be enough. Nothing I do will make me the son my parents deserved when they were alive. Nothing I do will ever bring them back. Either way, I've already failed them.

I've been planning this for weeks, but I just now finally got the courage to go through with it. I spent the night at the Wayne Enterprise building, in my father's office, to get my final affairs in order. As the only heir to the Wayne fortune, I have a responsibility to uphold. I decided to give some of our money to various charities and to leave the rest of the money to our butler, Alfred.

Alfred's a good man; he's been working hard tending to all of my family's needs, big and small, through out the years. As far back as I could remember, he's worked 7 days a week, day and night. He's never called in sick and has never complained about any of our requests, no matter how ridiculous; including stepping in as my legal guardian. Alfred deserves a break, he deserves to not have to be forced to raise a child that's not even his.

I stayed up all night making sure I didn't forget anything. I wrote down every detail I can remember about the night of my parents' murder and gave Alfred instructions to make sure all the evidence I've collected gets back to Detective Jim Gordon; along with an envelope with a generous check for his trouble. He's the only trustworthy officer in the Gotham City Police Department. I failed my parents, I couldn't save them or find their killer. But I know that if anyone could find them, it's Detective Gordon.

It will all be over before dawn. I can't stand the thought of seeing another day, another sunrise, without my parents. The sun mocking me with the promise of a new day and a fresh start. Nothing will bring them back and nothing will take away the suffering. I'd give anything for it to have been me instead. You may not be able to change the past, but you can always change the present.

I would have probably done this sooner, but it took me forever to decide how I was going to do this. I refuse to use a gun. Though that's how my parents died, I can't bare the thought of ever using one myself. As one of the self-defense books I've been reading said: weapons are for cowards who don't know how to fight with their hands; like the masked man who shot my parents. No one I know uses any medication and I won't contribute to the drug dealing problem in Gotham. Anything that involves bleeding out, suffocation, or ingesting poisons would take too long. I need something that will do the job quickly with no chance of going back.

I recently talked with one of my father's colleagues who told me that father's office hasn't been touched since the last time he was in it. As the heir to Wayne Enterprises, it will be given to me once I am old enough to claim my birthright, along with control of the company and the rest of the Wayne family's assets. This is the first time I have been in his office since the incident and it will be the last. My Father's office is on the top floor, with the best view in all of Gotham.

It will be the last thing I ever see.


	2. At The Bottom

**Thanks for the reviews. Shadychef, that was probably one of the best reviews I've ever gotten. One of the reasons I've avoided first person in most of my writings (especially for stories like this) is because it can be emotionally draining to put yourself in the character's shoes and write (or even read it) from their perspective without getting in a dark mood. At least that's how I am; a former college professor of mine used to say I was an empath. But I sucked it up because I knew this story would need that perspective.**

 **The show doesn't give much perspective on Selina's past life (not yet at least). So I tried to use as much info I could get from the show. I'm not sure which DC universe canon this show would fit into (if any) so I took some bits and pieces from the comics and some of my own ideas to fill in the blanks.**

 **Hope you enjoy it, I think there is only going to be one more chapter for this story because I need to finish up other posted stories and get started on new stories that have been floating around in my head for a while.**

 **Feel free to review.**

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Chapter 2: At The Bottom

 **Selina's Point of View:**

'Only an hour until the next bus leaves.' I thought to myself as I sat on the bench at the bus station.

I don't know where I'm going yet; but I'm taking the first bus out of Gotham. I'm getting as far away from this hell hole as possible, or at least as far as $12.87 bus fare can get me.

I need to get out of here. I need to get away from Gotham City; there's nothing more for me here. The adults in this city are corrupted. The mayor's trying to wrangle up all the street kids to ship them off to group home up state. He's up for re-election soon and needs a gimmick to catch the voters' interest. Not to mention eliminating a potential hot topic political issue and letting the street kids be some other mayor's problem. Most of my friends have already been caught.

All the cops in Gotham are crooked, they're ony looking out for themselves. Occasionally they do something good for the city; but that's mostly to make themselves, the GCPD, or the mayor look good. They don't care about Gotham. All the adults in this town are crooks. Well, I guess Gordon is alright.

My contacts aren't any better. The guy I've done business with since my mother's dissappearance was not only trying to cheat me out of a good deal then tried to sell me out to a group of assassins. I'm still not sure which one I'm more pissed about.

Mom's been gone for a while. Everyone tells me she's dead, but I know she's still alive… somewhere. I may not know where my mom is at the moment, but I know she's not dead.

I wasn't always a street kid. My mom and I lived in a little apartment, it was a bit run down and in the worst part of town; but it was still home. I just woke up one day and she was gone. No note, but no body, and everything was in its place. At first I wasn't too concerned, I thought maybe she went to work. It wasn't until the next morning I started to worry. I finally went down to the police station, only to find out someone identified a corpse as my mother and she was reported dead, they've been trying for hours to contact next of kin. They wouldn't let me see any pictures from the coronor's report since I was still a minor. So I snuck into the evidence room and looked up the file that contained a picture of the corpse, I could tell it wasn't her. The date on the report said the body was found the night before my mother went missing. I remember because we were home that night having a movie marathon. I keep telling the cops she's not dead but that she is missing; they won't help me. I'm on my own.

I dropped out of school, the last thing I needed was teachers asking to talk to my parents. I never really knew my old man, they split up when I was little. For all I know he's probably dead anyway. And with my mom presumed dead, they'd probably try to find next of kin to watch me. I've never known any other family, it was always just mom and me. Too bad, I was actually good at school.

They'd most likely try to put me in the foster care system, but since I'm an older kid, most families won't take me. Not that there are many families in Gotham that do foster care; most are just scraping by and the ones who do foster care around here are usually just in it for the money. Rumor has it one lady even forces her foster kids to steal for her.

I'd more then likely wind up in a group home anyway. Those aren't much better; one of my street friends ran away because one of the older boys, whose starting to age out, tried to touch her. That's not uncommon for the girls at Gotham Orphanage; if it's not the older boys, then it's the adult supervisors. Gotham Orphanage has been goin down hill since Mayor James went into office. He's only interested in funding ventures that make the city more revenue. There has been accusations going around that he's been embezzling from the city's tax money.

Things have just been getting worse for Gotham since Mr. And Mrs. Waynes' murder. It turns out they were the biggest contributors to most of Gotham's charities and the new bigwigs of Wayne Enterprises pulled all the business' fundings, except to the GCPD and Maoyor James' re-election campaign. I witnessed their murder, but I didn't see the guy's face. All I could focus on was the boy who had to watch his parents die in front of him. Poor kid, he most likely lived a sheltered life up until this point.

I recognized him and his parents from the papers: The Waynes, also known as the richest family in all of Gotham, if not the state. I always imagined that the son, Bruce, would be a typical rich spoiled brat who got his way all the time. I pictured a kid who wouldn't care about anyone else's well being, not even his parents. But all I saw that night was a scared, innocent boy who didn't deserve to lose his parents and definitely didn't deserve to see them killed right in front of him.

I told Gordon I saw the man who did its face, but I lied. I didn't want to go upstate and at the time I wanted to stay in Gotham; I thought my mom was still here or, that even if she wasn't, one day she would come back to look for me. Plus, if I was in the system it would be harder to find her if I was in a group home upstate with constant chaperones for the next 4 or 5 years.

I've come to realize that if my mom left she most likely left Gotham all together and, if she's as smart as I know she is, she's not coming back to this pathetic excuse for a town. I'm not going to find her here, I need to keep moving.

I need a fresh start. I'm just not sure what I'm going to do, I can't keep pick pocketing and pawning things off forever. I'm getting taller and all of my clothes and shoes are getting tighter. On the street, a short, skinny kid is less noticeable than a teenaged girl with curves. It's always harder to steal from stores than from people on the street because they're expecting it and take all procausions, like cameras and security guards. And if you get caught, they always press charges. As much as I need new clothes, orange isn't exactly my color.

The street adults have been getting sleazier, too. A lot of older men have been propositioning me for prostitution. That's the fate of most girls living on the streets of Gotham; if they aren't dealing drugs, in abusive relationships, locked up in prison or Arkham, or all of the above. I won't let that happen to me; any of it. I don't know how, but I'll get by.

I'm too anxious to sit; though I normally don't like sitting still in one place for too long anyway. It's still a while before the bus will get here and it's going to be a long ride; a small walk around the block should suffice until I get to where ever I'm going.

Most of the businesses aren't even open yet. As dumb as it seems, there are some things about Gotham I know I'm going to miss. I'm going to miss my street friends, the ones that are still here. I'll also miss my old school friends, though I haven't seen them since I dropped out because they may tell their teachers or parents about me, who may turn me in to the mayor's street kid clean up project. I'm gonna miss the stray cats. I'm gonna miss Detective Gordon, he's the only adult I trust since my mom left. I'm gonna miss… it doesn't matter; he'll never forgive me. Alfred's probably already convinced him that I'm nothing but trouble. He wouldn't be wrong.

This could be my last time in Gotham; I want the to make sure I remember as much as possible. I walked by my favorite downtown shops and the pizza parlor my mom and I always went to. As I strolled down the street, I could see the tallest building in Gotham at the end of the block, the Wayne Enterprise headquarters.

No matter what, I won't be able to forget about him. He's a billionaire orphan, the media will always be on his case for the rest of his life. Poor kid, he'll never know the peace of amnesty or the privacy that comes with being a nobody. At least I got that going for me; no one in Gotham will miss me.

I continued down the block towards the large building as my eyes met with the memorial plaque the company placed in the entryway. Everyone said they were good people, they were always on the news giving checks to shelters and schools, and volunteering at soup kitchens and charity banquets. I always just thought it was all an act or publicity stunt to get more business. But after meeting Bruce I know that they had to be good people.I heard Thomas Wayne's office was on the top floor; almost as if he was looking over Gotham, protecting it.

I heard a flock of birds shout from the top of the large building as they flew away. They were scared by a window opening. A moving figure on the top floor grabbed my attention. It looked like someone was crawling out onto the ledge. It's kinda hard to see since it's still dark out and they're high up, I can only barely see the shadow because of the light from the window.

I squinted my eyes to focus better as they started to stand up. They had short hair and the figure looked like it was shaking. I was across the street from the building when I could finally make out the features.

Is that…? Oh God, no! Bruce!


	3. Middle Ground

**Hey everyone, finally got a chance to finish this story. It took me a lot longer then I thought to finish this because I had a lot going on lately. It didn't really turn out how I thought it would at first but basically got the same conclusion I wanted. I just really wanted to finish this story (and my other unfinished ones) and get started on some newerrands ideas. Anyway, hope you enjoy.**

 **As always, I don't own anything.**

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Chapter 3: Middle Ground

 **Bruce's Point of View:**

The sun will be rising any minute. As I started to climb out the window I realize how far up I really was; it didn't seem as scary from inside.

No matter, I've made my decision and I'm sticking to it.

I gazed ahead to take in my last look of Gotham. Though I was frightened, the view was breath taking. This city meant everything to my parents. They put their time, money, and effort into making Gotham a better place. And how did the city repay them? It killed them! It's only a matter of time before it destroys me too. I'm not going to let it. If I die in this city, it will be on my own terms. I refuse to let it suck me dry before it takes me.

I took a deep breath and looked at the street below when I noticed some of the street lights started to go out. From the corner of my eye I could see the sun slowly rising as the sky began to light up with hues of pink, purple, and orange.

It's time. I closed my eyes and extended my arms and began to stepped off the ledge. But I hesitated. Come on, Bruce; suck it up. I resumed my previous position and turned my back towards the city as I allowed myself to fall backwards.

Something went wrong. I should feeling my body free falling as it resisted against the wind. Instead I felt something holding me back by my left hand as I looked up and opened my eyes.

 **Selina's Point of View:**

I grabbed Bruce just in time with my good hand. I used my foot as leverage against the wall to help pull him back through the window. He struggled at first, but when he looked up and saw my face he began to crawl in willingly. Without thinking, I gave him a one armed hug the minute he was back on his feet inside.

"Oh, my God, Bruce!" I shouted with tears starting to swell up in my eyes.

"It's alright, Selina." He comforted me while reciprocating my hug.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yes, I'm fine." The young billionaire confirmed.

"Good." I replied before I gave him a hard slap in the face with my left hand before crossing my arms.

"OW!" Bruce shouted.

"That's for being an idiot." I informed him. "What the hell, Bruce? Was that another one of your dumb training exercises? What would make you want to do something so stupid?"

"I can't take it anymore, Selina." The fragile boy confessed. "I can't take the pain of knowing that I'm never going to see them again. The pain of knowing that I was never the son they deserved. The pain of knowing that I didn't help them. The pain of knowing that instead of protecting them I just coward out and let them die."

Bruce's voice broke on the last word as he began to break down to tears and curled up in a ball with his back against the wall.

"Bruce, I may not have seen the face of the man that shot them, but I did see what happened that night." I reminded him as I slid down with my back against the wall to sit next to him. "In case you didn't notice, they were trying to protect you. Do you really think they would rather be alive if it meant you were dead?"

"They could always have another child." He sniffled. "One who could bring honor to the Wayne family name. One they could have been proud of. They were everything to me, Selina. Without them, I don't have anyone."

"You have lots of people who care about you, Bruce." I reminded him. "You have Alfred."

"Don't get me wrong, Alfred is great; but he's just taking care of me out of obligation." He figured.

"If Alfred only saw you as an obligation, I doubt he would have tried to save you when those assassins were chasing after us." I pointed out. "Trust me, Bruce, you're the luckiest orphan I know. You have a trust fund, and a house, and a future."

"I'd trade it all for them." He confessed, resting his chin on his knees.

"At least you knew your parents cared about you." I finally blurted out. "Not all parents put their children first. Most of my friends on the street, their parents abandoned them. They chose to leave." I took a deep breath to calm myself. "Can I let you in on a secret?"

"Of course." He confirmed.

"There are times when I think that maybe my mom didn't leave for a mission." I confessed. "There are times I wonder…. If she left to get away from me."

"Why would she leave you?" The boy asked.

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly the easiest person in the world to get along with." I admitted, though I know he's already aware of this fact. "I can't help but think that If only I helped out more at home or if only I was better at school or just a better daughter in general, maybe she would have stuck around… or at least take me with her."

"I'm sure that isn't true." Bruce comforted.

"Then why would she leave without so much as a note?" I countered.

"Didn't you say she was a spy or something?" He asked.

"She used to tell me lots of things, I'm not even sure what's real and what's not anymore." I confessed. "Sometimes I filled in the blanks to the questions she never answered because I was too afraid to ask. But there are times I doubt everything and wonder if she really left to get away from me. Sometimes I actually envied you. Not just because you still have Alfred and a home and not because you're rich; but because you know what happened to your parents and where they are. I wish I could just believe that she died and move on, but the fact is my mom left and never told me where she was going or why. I kept thinking 'She'll comeback for me.' But it's been almost a year and I've finally come to the conclusion that she's never coming back for me."

My voice broke on the last word as my tear ducts betrayed me and I started to cry. Bruce instantly hugged me.

"It's alright." He whispered into my ear. "She would have to be a fool to leave you willingly."

It's been along time since someone had anything nice to say about me. It's also been a long time since anyone's hugged me. I almost forgot what a sincere, comforting hug felt like. Since starting my new life as a street kid, I learned quickly to avoid physical contact with others as much as possible. Any sign of vulnerability on the streets was considered a weakness and could easily lead to trouble. But Bruce was different, he wasn't manipulative or shifty. He was kind and loyal, a true friend. As I reciprocated the hug as tightly as possible, I felt a sharp pain in my right hand and muffled a groan as I winced in pain.

"Selina, what's wrong?" Bruce asked as he pulled away from our embrace.

"Nothing." I quickly replied as I hugged my right hand close to my body.

"Why are you holding your arm like that?" he asked.

"It's nothing" I lied. "Probably just a little scratch I got on my way up here."

"Let me take a look at it." Bruce requested.

"It's fine, Bruce." I insisted.

"If a little scratch hurts that much it might be infected." Bruce informed me. "Please let me see it."

'Damn his adorable baby blue, puppy dog eyes.' I thought to myself. "OK, but I'm sure it's not as bad as it looks." I agreed out loud.

I reluctantly moved my right arm away from my body towards him. My long black right sleeve had tears and rips running down it with a few still bloody cuts and swollen bruises on my hand. Damn, that was my favorite jacket. Technically it was my only jacket, at least the only one I had that still fit me. Bruce pulled back my sleeves which revealed several long cuts running up and down my arm. I hadn't really had a chance to check out my injuries, but it looked a lot worse then I thought.

"What happened to your arm, Selina?" Bruce asked urgently.

"When I saw you on the ledge I panicked and tried to get up here as fast as possible but the door was locked." I explained. "So, I used a glass breaker my mom gave me after our apartment was robbed to shatter a window and my hand to knock the glass out so I could get in and took the elevator up here. Figures you'd pick the tallest building in Gotham to jump off."

"Selina, this isn't funny." Bruce scolded. "Some of these cuts look deep, you may need stitches. I'll call Alfred and have him take you to the emergency room."

"Forget it, you may have the means to run to the doctor for every little runny nose, but most people in Gotham don't have insurance or money to go to the doctor." I reminded the young billionaire.

"There's a free clinic 2 blocks from here." Bruce recalled. "Dr. Thompkins is a friend of my parents and she often does clinic hours there."

"I can't." I said. "I need to catch a bus."

"This needs to be addressed right away, I'm sure you can catch the next one." He said. "And as I said, I can arrange for Alfred can take you were ever you need to go."

"I don't want any one to know where I'm going, Bruce." I stated. "I'm leaving Gotham… forever."

"Where are you going?" Bruce asked. "I don't know, as far as the bus will take me. The street kids are being rounded up like cattle and shipped upstate to foster homes. Gordon probably has me on Gotham's Top 10 Most Wanted Juveniles list. Even my contacts are selling me out. This town is going down hill fast. I need a fresh start."

"Where will you live?" The concerned boy asked. "What will you do for food and money?"

"I'll live on the streets like I have been, until I can afford a place." I stated. "As for food and money, I haven't figured that out yet, but I'll manage."

"You can't run away from your problems, Selina." Bruce lectured.

"You're one to talk; you were about to jump off a building." I reminded him.

"That's different." He insisted.

"Oh right, I forgot; you have a future." I stated coldly. "You have money and a position of power no other kid, let alone an orphan, can even imagine. The difference between us, Bruce, is that you have the power to make a difference. To change Gotham. This city needs you. But, it could get along just fine without me."

Selina, I'm no more important than you are just because I have money." He claimed. "A lot of people think because my family is rich that we're snobs; but my parents always taught me money and status can only get you so far; but not far enough if you don't have the brains and ethics to use it wisely. I want to help you, Selina. I want to help Gotham, but I need a plan. I'm still just a kid and my full inheritance doesn't kick in until I'm an adult. I want you to be here to help me save Gotham."

I was speechless for a moment before we heard sirens.

"The window breaking must have set off the silent alarms." Bruce informed me as he looked out the window and saw police cruisers headed down the street.

We descended down in the elevator to the main lobby, when the door opened we were greeted by Officers Gordon and Bullock pointing guns at us. We instantly raised our arms in surrender.

"Bruce, Selina?" Jim Gordon confirmed before the officers lowered their guns and we dropped our arms.

"Figures, every other call we get involves one or both of these kids." Bullock muttered.

"Since when do cops play private security guards?" I asked.

"Since the Waynes' incident made anyone associated with Wayne Enterprise a target." Gordon replied. "Would you mind telling me what the two of you are doing here on an early Saturday morning?"

"I was let in last night by the guard before closing." Bruce stated. "I had a lot of studying to do and couldn't concentrate at home so I decided to spend the night in my father's office cramming for a test."

"And what about you, Selina?" The rookie officer asked.

"I promised her a tour of the building awhile back, so when I bumped into her the other day I told her to meet me here this morning." The young billionaire quickly covered.

"You seem to have an answer for everything, don't you, kid?" Bullock stated in a suspicious tone. "Do you have an answer for why the window is busted?"

"Easy, Harvey." The cop's partner pleaded "I can take it from here, contact Bruce's guardian."

Bullock headed back to the cruiser, his partner knew he didn't like dealing directly with kids, especially teens.

"So what did happen to the window?" Gordon asked us as soon as Bullock was out of ear shot.

"When I was waiting for Bruce to come down, I leaned my hand against the glass and it broke." I lied.

Gordon looked at me and then took another look at the glass.

"Let me get this straight, you're telling me that a 80lb girl broke a thick window with her hand just by leaning on it?" Gordon questioned.

"I put more weight on it then I thought." I covered as Bruce nodded in agreement.

"Why didn't you go to the hospital right way?" The cop interrogated.

"I didn't think it was that bad." I replied. "I didn't really see how bad it was until we got to the top."

Jim Gordon examined my arm. I could tell he didn't buy our story, he was smarter than most GCPD cops. I could feel Bruce fighting the urge to twitch, poor kid has probably never been in trouble like this before. He wouldn't last 3 seconds in juvie.

"Are you going to arrest us?" Bruce finally asked.

"We were planning on making a possible arrest for breaking and entering, but seeing your name is on the building I doubt that will hold up much in court." Gordon admitted, much to mine and Bruce's relief. "But I do still need to fill out a report, since there was property damage and an injury. Selina should also see a doctor about her arm."

"Alfred and I can take her." Bruce offered.

"We may need to ask her more questions, so Bullock and I will have to take her." Officer Gordon insisted. "As soon as your guardian shows up you'll be free to go, Bruce. But for now can I trust you both to stay here while I fill out the report?"

We both nodded in agreement and let out a sigh of relief when he was out of sight.

"By the way, thank you…. for everything." Bruce thanked me.

"You kidding?" I asked. "I already have a heavy rap sheet, last thing I need is to be sued by a multi-billion dollar corporation suing me for breaking and entering. Besides, you're crazy enough. A trip to the looney bin's suicide watch ward might send off the edge and get you a one way ticket to Arkham."

"Either way, thank you for not telling them about my… attempt." He said as calmly as possible.

"That was a one time thing." I said sternly. "I swear to God, Bruce, if you ever try to do something that stupid again I will kill you myself."

"I promise: I wont." The boy vowed. "I realized there are people worse off then me and I want to help them and Gotham. It's what my parents would have wanted."

"Well, good luck with that." I responded before I headed outside.

"Selina, wait." Bruce said. "Please don't leave Gotham. Stay here, I can get you into the best schools, you can stay at the manor and-"

"Bruce!" I shouted to get him to shut up. "I can't stay at the manor, it's too dangerous. The assassins found me there before, not to mention Alfred isn't exactly my biggest fan. Trust me, I'm better off alone: no connections and no attachments."

"Then at least stay in Gotham." He practically begged. "At least you know the streets here."

"Bruce, there's nothing left for me here." I reminded him. "I need to move on-"

"I've lost so much lately." The Boy interrupted. "I can't lose my best friend too."

I've spent the last year trying to block out everyone and everything. The only thing I've allowed myself to grow attached to were the stray cats I found on the streets. Everyone else has left me and I couldn't bare the thought of losing someone else. As much as I tried to fight it, Bruce has grown on me. I've never seen such sincerity in anyone before I saw those sad blue eyes.

"If do I stay, will you cool it with the dangerous stunts?" I asked.

"I'll try to tone it down." He promised.

"Okay." I agreed.

"Maybe after you go to the clinic I'll get you a cell phone so we can call each other." The Boy said hopefully.

"I don't really do cell phones." I admitted. "I hear people can track you with those and I don't like the idea of being watched."

"How will I get ahold of you then?" the boy asked.

"I'll be around" I replied. "Besides, I know we're you live, remember?"

"Perhaps I can use some of my allowance to set you up with an apartment" Bruce suggested.

"I don't need your charity, Bruce." I snapped. "I've made it this long on the streets, I'll manage." I said in a calmer tone. "Plus, I've gotten used to being outside. I almost feel trapped indoors."

"Well, if you ever change your mind, the manor has several vacant guest bedrooms." He reminded me.

"I'll keep that in mind." I said before I gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Gordon returned with a cloth that he wrapped around my arm and let Bruce ride with us to the clinic while he waited for Alfred.

After Alfred picked up Bruce, Gordon and Bullock asked me a few more questions before letting me go. A part of me wished I would have just gotten out of town while I still had the chance, the other part was glad that I was able to stop Bruce from jumping. I've seen snippets of his pain at the mansion, usually when we walked past his parents room in the hallway; but I never thought he would ever think to do that. Given his situation, he was the strongest person I knew.

I thought I didn't have any reasons to stay in Gotham. My mom left, I have no other family, and I'm basically a middle school drop out. To top it off this town was going down hill fast since the Wayne murder. I felt unwanted after I started thinking about how my mom could just leave for over a year and not try to contact me. But somehow, no one had ever made me feel as wanted and as needed as Bruce has. I thought there was no hope for this town but with the right guidance I think Bruce is just what Gotham needs.

 **Bruce's Point of View:**

I can tell Alfred was upset that I lied about my whereabouts, though he didn't punish me (not that he really could given my father's wishes). I can only imagine how much more upset he would be if he knew what I really had planned, let alone if I had actually gone through with it.

All this time I had felt this emptiness inside me, telling me that without my parents I am nothing. Telling me that I was weak and brought shame to my family. But, Selina saved me when I couldn't think clearly. She made me realize that even though I couldn't save them, I can still honor their memory by finishing their work. I can use the advantages I was given to help Gotham.

 **The End**


End file.
